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Barnes and Noble

Half the City [LP]

Current price: $12.99
Half the City [LP]
Half the City [LP]

Barnes and Noble

Half the City [LP]

Current price: $12.99
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Size: CD

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With a charismatic, dynamic, and theatrical lead singer who seems to channel the intensity of on-stage, a loose and punchy two-man horn section, and a garage band back line that holds everything down, Birmingham, Alabama's at their best capture a retro-soul sound that echoes nothing so much as the classic and Muscle Shoals sides from the late '60s and early '70s. Lead vocalist 's gospel-inflected soul singing is impassioned to say the least, and he wrings every ounce of sweat and soul out of the tracks included on this, the band's debut full-length album. From the opener, "I'm Torn Up," the stage is set for track after track of slow-burning and heart-wrenching soul ballads, a form that is obviously 's specialty. He croons, and roars, and gasps, and groans, and slides through these songs like the second coming of , somehow smooth and rough and raw all at the same time, pure emotion tempered with a dose of gospel spark, and there's no denying this is his show. The band's churchy, street-corner horn band sound is punchy enough to give all the heat and steam he needs, but also in-check enough not to crowd him, and songs like "Call Me," "Broken Bones & Pocket Change," the stomping "Sugar Dyed," and the charming little soul waltz "It's Midnight," which closes things out, really do sound like they come from another era when secular gospel was just becoming known as soul. It's a refreshing sound, even though it does nothing new. If there's a flaw to this fine debut album, it's that most of the songs are slow-moving, wrenching ballads, powerful if taken one by one, and wrings everything out of them, but they tend to fall into the same emotional groove. A couple more "who cares, let's dance"-type upbeat songs might have made this a smoother and more varied listen, but that's really a quibble, since voices like 's only come around once in a great while. This debut album is pretty good, and this band shows a lot of heart. With a singer like , there's no reason to think that things won't just get bigger and better for this band. ~ Steve Leggett

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Barnes & Noble does business -- big business -- by the book. As the #1 bookseller in the US, it operates about 720 Barnes & Noble superstores (selling books, music, movies, and gifts) throughout all 50 US states and Washington, DC. The stores are typically 10,000 to 60,000 sq. ft. and stock between 60,000 and 200,000 book titles. Many of its locations contain Starbucks cafes, as well as music departments that carry more than 30,000 titles.

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